Tracking a lifestyle of travel and adventure

December 29, 2007

Adventure in Maui

We just got back from a 12 day family vacation in Maui. To be honest I wish I was still there in my shorts.

We
booked the flights and hotel 3 or 4 days before leaving. I am renowned
to not book until the last minute to see what sort of a mood we are all
in and what feels exciting. A great holiday to me is a display of
freedom and one that is not dependent on other people's schedule or
restrictions. My poor family lives on the edge of their seat wondering
what comes next. Needless to say we got exactly what we wanted at a
decent price.

I did try with 3 Toronto travel agents to get
something that would suit and none of them were able to help or in the
least nit helpful. I gave the same criteria to all 3 agents:A) anywhere in the worldB) warm/hotC) leave 15-27th for up to 2 weeksD) an adjoining room for the kidsE) no budget restriction

The first agent told me he didn't do any last minute booking.

The
second said it was impossible to get an adjoining room anywhere. I said
"do you mean, if I call any hotel in the world in a warm climate all of
them will say to me they do not have an adjoining room?" She said "you
could probably get a hotel but do you not want a package deal?" I said
"not really, I just want to have an adjoining room". She said "how will
you get there?" I said "I assume by airplane?" She said, "so you want a
package then?". I said "not really, I need a hotel somewhere in the
world that is warm with an adjoining room and then flights to get us
there". She said, "you can only request it, they won't guarantee a
room". The rigmarole went on for another few minutes before I told them
I would do it myself. Wow. In a world when the travel agency is almost
obsolete you would think folks would want to help or gain clients.

The third just did package holidays and didn't seem interested either.

I
finally called Corey in San Diego (I should have bi-passed all the
Canadians to begin with and gone straight to him) and he took down
details and got to work. Within 2 hours we were all booked with exactly
what we needed. He was fantastic and will be my default from now on.

Hotel:Kaanapali ShoresThis
place was just perfect for us. It had a kitchen, dining area, living
room with pull out bed, washer/dryer, washroom, separate bedroom with
king bed, and balcony.

The lobby, pools, and property are very
decent and it is right on the beach. There was a supermarket accross
the street which came in handy also. The room was nothing fancy but we
expected that as we went 4star and not 5star. It was clean and had
great maid service.We also had 2 TV's and had a free wireless connection which was brilliant for us geeks...

Maui:If
you have never been I would highly recommend it. You can be as remote
as you want, as luxurious as you desire, and it has all the beauty of
Hawaii with plenty to do. Our other holiday to Hawaii was to the island
of Kawaii which is beautiful but more remote. We stayed half our time
on the north part of the island at the Princeville resort (stunning)
and the rest at the Hyatt (looks stunning but is average) on the
southside.

The area we stayed at was Kaanapali just on the north side of Lahaina which has a great boardwalk with plenty of shops.

This
was a full day from 7.45 to 3pm. It was a highlight as a family. We had
so much fun, the food was great and the snorkeling was excellent. We
snorkeled in 2 areas one called Molokini which is a submerged volcanic
crater. We also got to see a whale shark which is apparently the
biggest fish in the sea. It swam around our boat several times on the
surface. It was massive (30ft?). The tour guides said it was the best
sighting they have ever had.

Kite Boarding lessons: 10/10This
was amazing. It is something I have wanted to do for a long time. I had
a 4 hour lesson which was with 3 different kites. It basically involved
sucking in plenty of sea water and getting tugged through the waves by
a 9 meter kite I attempted to hold with one hand and steer. It is a
complex sport but one that I am determined to develop more. I think I
will pick up a second hand kite and find as many excuses to get to the
ocean as possible.

Surfing lessons: 10/10The
royal lahaina group were fantastic. We had long boards and were is
small waves which was excellent. This was not the first time I have
gone surfing but this is the first time that I started getting
somewhere. It is a tough sport and was a blast. My highlight was seeing
my 7 year old son up on a board and mocking me for falling.

Drive around head of Island: 8/10This
was an excellent alternative to the road to Hana which we did not do
this time around. It was a couple of hours and just long enough. The
scenery was spectacular and the one lane road had me focused on several
occasions.

Big Beach Wailea and Volcanic field:The volcanic
field is a must see. It is bazaar and goes for miles. It isn't too far
either. The big beach was beautiful. Parking was a challenge but well
worth it. The waves were excellent and the water was perfect.Weilia
is the luxury resort spot full of gated communities and nice people.
The resorts look excellent but I wonder would it all be a bit secluded
from reality and the real beauty of the island.

Submarine: 6/10We
had to do it. The kids wanted to go in a submarine. It took us about
130 ft underwater and around a couple of reefs. It was pretty cool and
a lot better than I expected.Aquarium: 6/10The kids liked
seeing sharks and jelly fish so it was worth it to see them smile and
excited. It was shorter than I expected and a bit lame in comparison to
outdoor aquariums in other cities in the world.

Luau: 5/10The
kids loved it and it was a decent enough show. The food was very
average though. It didn't compare with the one and only other luau we
have been to before.

Magic show: 5/10We booked the dinner
and magic show for Christmas eve as we wanted to do something special
as a family. The experience/planning felt more like a night at summer
camp. They had all this weird Hawaian story and dance thing that went
on forever. It felt like a second-class laua or something when all we
wanted to see where some magic tricks. The food was rushed but not bad.
They had good beer on tap which was one plus.

When
the magic show eventually got going we were convinced that the
magicians wife was intoxicated or else she just looked doped. The
magician was actually pretty decent but the show was hokey. It was an
entertaining evening and the kids were excited that they got to see
someone floating on the stage so it could have been worse...

Bike the Volcano: 1/10This
was about the worst thing I have ever done. I got up at 2.30am to get
ready for a 2.50am pick-up. We were all bussed up to the top of an
active volcano called Haleakala to see the sunrise and then bike down.
It was foggy so we didn't see much but I was ok with that as I just
coudnt wait to get on a "custom bike" and ride back. Well...the bikes
were crap, old, and rusty. It was highway the whole way down. They put
the slowest people at the front. They made us all follow in single file
like 5 year olds. There was about zero physical excercise. The only
part that was sore by the end of the 9 hour day were my fingers from
riding the brakes the entire way down. It was honestly awful from a
bike lovers perspective.

If you are old, fat, unfit, or
extremely cautious on a bike you would probably enjoy it. That sounds
harsh but I cannot express on a blog how much of a waste of time and
money (no effort) it was. My recommendation is to avoid this like the
plague and spend the money to buy a bike and get a bus to the top. It
would be cheaper and you could have a riot horsing it back on your own
(impossible to get lost).

Additional notes:The
first few days we all woke up early due to the 5 hour time difference.
If I was to plan a sunrise trip again I would put it the day after
arriving.

The temperature was excellent. It ranged from 77-85
degrees farhenheit most days. We had 2 days that were cloudy off and on
with very light showers. We still did the pool etc but eventually
retired to a movie theater.

I reckon that this was our best
family holiday so far which as a lot to do with kids growing up but had
a lot to do with location and weather. We would go back in a heartbeat.

Maybe someday it will be to Kapaluha which was 10 minutes north of where we stayed....it looks beautiful

Here is our trip schedule:15th:Toronto - Chicago - Maui: Settled in at Kaapahali Shores16th: Lazy day/orientation and booking day trips17th: Submarine at Lahaina18th: Pool and beachLuau: The royal Lahaina19th: Sunrise bike the volcano20th: Drive around head of IslandSurfing lessons: Royal Lahaina21st: Snorkel trip & Waterfront Restaurant22nd: Lazy day and national treasure23rd:Beach Day & Volcanic field24th: Kite Boarding & Magic show25th:Christmas day & Nice dinner at longhis26th: Pool, Aquarium, Waterhorse, Shopping, Dinner & Airport27th: Arrive home to see what Santa delivered

For
those of you with no interest in going to Maui you are legendary for
reading all of this. Writing it has kept me entertained on my
blackberry on the plane home as everyone sleeps....Mahalo